When’s the best time to get an MBA?

As I speak to potential MBA candidates, I often hear one question and one statement:

“Is now a good time to go back to school?”, or: “Now isn’t a great time for an MBA – I am (too busy, just married, in a new job, etcetera.)”

How would I respond to these comments? When do I think is the best time to get an MBA?  From my standpoint, it’s almost always a good time to go back to school, but it’s never a perfect time. Expanding your capabilities and developing new skills is always a good (and important) thing to do if you want to move ahead in your career. However, as a working professional life can often get in the way. There are always conflicts and complications that may make further education more difficult. It might be a new job or the fact that your company is going through a tough time. It might be family obligations like a new spouse or child. As a busy professional, you have extraordinary demands on your time. Trying to fit in a serious academic programme will never be easy, and, no matter what you think it won’t be “easier next year”. 

How should you evaluate the timing of your decision to undertake an MBA? There are several questions you must ask yourself:

Will the MBA help me achieve my career goals? As I have written before, an MBA is not for everyone. Some careers, positions and industries don’t really require an MBA. In others, it’s an absolute must. You need to determine if an MBA will help you advance within your organisation, allow you to make a desired career switch or prepare you to launch your own venture. Whatever your goals, you first need to make sure that an MBA will help you get there.

Do I have sufficient experience to make an MBA worthwhile? Most top MBA programmes these days expect students to have several years of work experience – often as much as four or five years. If you have just graduated from your first degree, you probably ought to wait a few years before applying to business school. Your chances of acceptance will be greater and you’ll probably get more out of the experience.

How will the programme affect my family, my work and my personal life?  Any MBA programme is a big commitment. You are probably already busy with work. If you have a spouse and family, you are undoubtedly busy there too. If you add in the demands of an MBA something will definitely have to “give”. How will you manage the additional time required? What are you willing to give up or cut back on to fit in the programme?